


To Whom It May Concern

by MyMisguidedFairytale



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Canon Compliant, Chairman Election Arc (Hunter X Hunter), Conflict Resolution, F/M, Gift Fic, One Shot, Plans For The Future, Politics, going separate ways
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 15:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18853867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyMisguidedFairytale/pseuds/MyMisguidedFairytale
Summary: Pariston and Ging give Cheadle their resignations from the Zodiacs. She much prefers Ging’s way of doing things.





	To Whom It May Concern

**Author's Note:**

> _To Whom It May Concern_ was originally written and published on October 27, 2014 on [tumblr](http://cheadle-yorkshire.tumblr.com/post/101126209622/hi-i-have-a-drabble-idea-for-you-pariston-giving).
> 
> Everything below is preserved as it was originally posted:
> 
> **Title** : To Whom It May Concern  
>  **Pairing** : Pariston x Cheadle  
>  **Word Count** : 1418  
>  **Summary** : Pariston and Ging give Cheadle their resignations from the Zodiacs. She much prefers Ging’s way of doing things.  
>  **For** : blue-mint-winter  
>  **A/N** : Enjoy! :D Takes place immediately post-anime Election arc. Maybe hints of PariGing too if you squint?

__

_**To Whom It May Concern**_

The letter was typed on plain printer paper, addressed only _To Whom It May Concern_ , and so unremarkable in almost every other way that Cheadle considered it a stroke of luck that she even picked it up over the litany of others from the various world leaders and Hunters of mild acquaintance that had sent her notes immediately following her appointment as the newest Hunter Association Chairman.

The wording was formal and stiff and her eyes saw red from the second line. _I hereby submit my resignation from the Zodiac Twelve…_

Involuntarily, she crumpled the envelope, unable to destroy the letter—it would need to be filed away, properly, and the wrinkles would be unfitting—and stormed out of her office. Pariston Hill would undoubtedly be cleaning out his own office if he was permanently leaving their— _her_ , she corrected herself—employ, unless he was utilizing some sort of forwarding service. In that case, he would have had to provide an address, or rent a storage unit, and such things would provide an unwanted paper trail back to wherever place he would be sequestering himself now that he was leaving. No, she decided, he would be doing it himself, as quickly and cleanly as a sharp cut. 

Now that he’d shown his true colors, Cheadle thought sourly. Still, as she took the stairs two at a time, stumbling a little bit over the landing to the fifth floor, part of her hoped that he wouldn’t still be in the building, just so she could avoid a confrontation. They’d said all they needed to say to one another after the election, after all.

But that was before that _rat_ tried to resign from the Zodiacs with a letter! He didn’t even have the nerve to tell her in person!

Seething, she stormed down the hallway, skidding to a stop in front of the open doors to the Vice-Chair’s office. The desk had been cleared, but standing beside it, holding a single, open cardboard box, was Pariston.

“You!” She pointed at him, all of the steam she’d built up deflating when she realized she hadn’t planned what to say to him. “What’s the meaning of that letter?”

“I should have thought I made my intentions clear.” He continued putting things from his bookshelf into the box; a series of slim, untitled volumes disappeared inside, followed by an award she dimly remembered some humanitarian organization giving Pariston the year before. “Do you accept my resignation? I would have thought having something in writing was best, you know.”

“You were just hoping to skip town without confronting me directly about it! I’d expect such a thing from someone like _Ging_ , but I expected better from you!”

“Oh, don’t be _too_ angry with me,” he said. “Your glasses might fog up.”

Cheadle scowled at him, missing the next few things he put in the box. Folding up the edges, he set it on the empty desk.

“I didn’t want to bother you.” He smiled at her, extending his arms in some pretense of sheepishness. “I figured you would have enough things to worry about, this early in your leadership.”

“Why? Are you afraid I’d name _you_ as my vice-chairman? Pariston.”

His eyes widened considerably, and she took some small pleasure in the way he visibly started at her words. Bet he hadn’t seen _that_ coming.

“Were you? I must say I never imagined…”

“It would be a good way to keep an eye on you.” She crossed her arms, finally deciding to drop the act and put him out of his misery. “But I think it’s not worth the hassle.”

“Well, you’re the boss.” He sounded even more relieved than he looked, and Cheadle had to wonder if he _would_ have taken it, had she offered. Better that she hadn’t. The other Zodiacs never would have forgiven her, or understood her reasoning.

“And you don’t have to worry about me, Cheadle,” he continued. “Forgive me, _Chairman_.”

“I wasn’t worrying.” That sounded too defensive, even to her ears. “What are your plans, after you leave?”

“We’ll see,” he said. “I’m waiting on a few contracts. We might be seeing one another again sooner than you think.”

“Hopefully not too soon.” A disconcerting thought.

“Why so interested? Do you wish to keep up correspondence? I can send you postcards.”

Her teeth grind together, but she didn’t take the bait of his mocking. “I merely wanted to ensure that you would not become another one of our lost hunters.”

“I assure you, that will not happen. I’ll always be able to find you if it suits my purpose, after all.”

The way he worded it sent a chill down Cheadle’s spine. “Yes, well, wherever you’re off to, happy hunting.”

“Thank you.” That, of all the things he’d said to her so far, sounded the most disturbingly genuine. “You can keep the desk,” he said, “and the artwork, if it’s to your taste. It’s all been signed over to the organization. The things that were mine.”

She didn’t care, and the thought of occupying any space with _his_ furniture was a highly unwelcome one. She’d always associate it with him. Even the air around him still reeked of cologne. She’d have to get a cleaning crew in, before she installed anyone else in that office.

Slowly, Pariston picked up the box, cradling it in both hands. “Unless you have any further need of me, I’ll be leaving now.”

“No.” She had decided she didn’t want him around anymore, either. “Your clearance to these levels of the building will be revoked immediately after you leave.”

“I can’t say I’ll miss it,” he said; that mocking expression returned to his face as he passed her. “But I think I will miss _you_.”

Red-faced and scowling, Cheadle turned on her heel, spluttering all manner of refutations as he walked away, laughing.

In the ensuing emptiness of the office, Cheadle sighed, folding her arms and studying the rows of accoutrements he’d left behind. There were the books—some classics of literature and poetry, some anthologies on nature, some travel books—and office accessories, framed photographs of the Zodiac Twelve and Netero, an engraved clock, and a stack of business cards.

“Well, that went…not as poorly as it could have.”

* * *

When Cheadle left the headquarters building, she paused under the cover of the awning. Leaning against one of the wide, stone columns bordering the plate-glass windows stood Ging Freecs.

“I’m resigning from the Zodiacs.”

Quick and to-the-point. She much preferred Ging’s way of doing things. “Of course you are. Ging.”

He seemed a little surprised by her total lack of reaction, before laughing to himself.

“Thank you,” Ging said to her. Unlike Pariston’s earlier gratitude, Ging’s sounded much less secretly menacing.

“What for?”

“For stalling Pariston as long as you did.”

“You’re going to follow him.” It wasn’t a question so much as an inalienable fact, and the more she looked at Ging—staring off in the distance, at some spot she couldn’t place, with a kind of anticipation so forceful that she both hoped it would never be directed at her and wondered what such a prospect would be like.

He made some sort of grunt in the affirmative.

“If he’s doing anything dangerous, let me know,” she said. “That’s an order from your Chairman.”

“Geez, do you want me to text you every time he sneezes?” He rubbed at the back of his head before sighing. “If there’s anything really serious, I’ll try to let you know.”

That was about as noncommittal an answer as he could give, but she wasn’t really expecting anything more. But she had a feeling that something _serious_ , as he put it, was just around the corner. If both Pariston _and_ Ging were setting up their hands, the game must have some significant stakes. 

Pushing up her glasses, Cheadle turned away from Ging. “Well. I’ll be seeing you.”

“Hopefully not too soon,” Ging said, with a flash of a smile. “But we all know things don’t really work out that way, right?”

She would be lying if she said she’d never watched Netero or Pariston at work and considered how she would adapt to their positions. How they led meetings, how they charmed associates, how they performed at every task they were given so, one day, she could _excel_ if she were called to it.

She thought of Pariston, standing in front of his desk, and the mess she’d have to clean up from the things he’d left in his office. Even after he had removed himself from her life, he was still managing to irritate her. It was like he hadn’t left at all. “Right.”

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I’m more of the impression Pariston _did_ just skip town and send Cheadle the most offhand letter announcing his resignation, but that doesn’t make for as good of a story xD
> 
> 2\. Thank you for reading! I would appreciate and value your comments.


End file.
